The occurrence of in vivo iron toxicity in the human body can be categorized into iron overload and non-iron overload conditions. Iron overload conditions are common in thalassaemia patients through chronic blood transfusions and in hereditary haemochromatosis patients. Non-iron overloaded conditions include anthracycline mediated cardiotoxicity, viral infections, neurodegenerative diseases, photo induced damage, and proliferative conditions. The potential use of iron chelators in the treatment of a variety of diseases is reviewed in Tam et al., Current Medicinal Chemistry, 2003, 10, 983-995 and Hider et al., BioMetals, 2007, 20, 639-654.
At present, there are several iron chelator drugs that have reached the market. Examples of those include deferiprone (Ferriprox™), ICL670 (ExJade™), dexrazoxane hydrochloride (Zinecard™) and desferrioxamine mesylate (Desferal™). However, only two of these compounds, namely deferiprone and ICL670, are orally active for the removal of iron in iron-overloaded diseases.